World record breakers at the 2012 Olympics

total of 38 records were broken in the 2012 Games. Some were improved by a few milliseconds,

while others were shattered in blistering new times. View the athletes below who

achieved world records in London. -- By Paul Rosales, Yahoo! Sports

Olympics Day 15 - Athletics

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 11: Anisya Kirdyapkina of Russia and Elena Lashmanova of Russia compete during the Women's 20km Walk final on Day 15 of the London 2012 Olympic Games on the streets of London on August 11, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Olympics Day 15 - Athletics

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 11: Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Michael Frater and Nesta Carter of Jamaica celebrate next to the clock after winning gold and setting a new world record of 36.84 during the Men's 4 x 100m Relay Final on Day 15 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 11, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Olympics Day 14 - Athletics

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 10: Carmelita Jeter of the United States, Bianca Knight of the United States, Allyson Felix of the United States and Tianna Madison of the United States celebrate next to the clock after winning gold and setting a new world record of 40.82 afterthe Women's 4 x 100m Relay Final on Day 14 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 10, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Olympics Day 13 - Athletics

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 09: David Lekuta Rudisha of Kenya celebrates after winning gold and setting a new world record in the Men's 800m Final on Day 13 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 9, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Olympics Day 9 - Weightlifting

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 05: Tatiana Kashirina of Russia competes during the Women's 75kg Weightlifting on Day 9 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at ExCeL on August 5, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Olympics Day 9 - Weightlifting

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 05: Lulu Zhou of China during the Women's 75kg Weightlifting on Day 9 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at ExCeL on August 5, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Olympics Day 8 - Shooting

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 04: Jessica Rossi of Italy competes during the Women's Trap Shooting Qualification on Day 8 of the London 2012 Olympic Game at the Royal Artillery Barracks on August 4, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 04: (L-R) Dani King, Laura Trott, and Joanna Rowsell of Great Britain celebrate with their Gold medals during the medal ceremony for the Women's Team Pursuit Track Cycling Finals after breaking the World Record on Day 8 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Velodrome on August 4, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

Olympics Day 8 - Weightlifting

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 04: Ilya Ilyin of Kazakhstan celebrates setting a new world record and winning the gold medal in the Men's 94kg Weightlifting final on Day 8 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at ExCeL on August 4, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Olympics Day 8 - Swimming

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 04: Yang Sun of China celebrates after winning the Men's 1500m Freestyle Final on Day 8 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre on August 4, 2012 in London, England. Sun recorded a World Record time for the event with a time of 14:31.02. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Olympics Day 7 - Swimming

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 03: Missy Franklin of the United States waves to the crowd after winning the Women's 200m Backstroke Final on Day 7 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre on August 3, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images)

Olympics Day 7 - Cycling - Track

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 03: (L-R) Edward Clancy, Geraint Thomas, Steven Burke and Peter Kennaugh of Great Britain celebrate with their gold medals during the medal ceremony for the Men's Team Pursuit Track Cycling final on Day 7 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Velodrome on August 3, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

Olympics Day 7 - Shooting

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 03: Alexei Klimov of Russia competes in the Men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Shooting final on Day 7 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at The Royal Artillery Barracks on August 3, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

Olympics Day 6 - Cycling - Track

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: Silver medalists Jinjie Gong (L) and Shuang Guo of China celebrate with their silver medals during the medal ceremony for the Women's Team Sprint Track Cycling on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Velodrome on August 2, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

Olympics Day 6 - Cycling - Track

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: Jessica Varnish (front) and Victoria Pendleton of Great Britain compete during the Women's Sprint Track Cycling Qualifying on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Velodrome on August 2, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Olympics Day 6 - Cycling - Track

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: (L-R) Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny and Sir Chris Hoy of Great Britain celebrate with their gold medals during the medal ceremony after setting a new world record in the Men's Team Sprint Track Cycling final on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Velodrome on August 2, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

Olympics Day 6 - Swimming

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: Rebecca Soni celebrates victory in the Women's 200m Breaststroke during Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympics Games at the Aquatics Centre on August 02, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Olympics Day 5 - Weightlifting

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 01: Xiaojun Lu of China reacts after setting his second world record of the event by scoring a total of 379 while competing in the Men's 77kg Weightlifting on Day 5 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at ExCeL on August 1, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Olympics Day 3 - Weightlifting

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 30: Un Guk Kim of DPR Korea celebrates making a world record while competing in the Men's 62kg Weightlifting on Day 3 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at ExCeL on July 30, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Olympics Day 2 - Weightlifting

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 29: Zulfiya Chinshanlo of Kazakhstan reacts after competing in the Women's 53kg Weightlifting on Day 2 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at ExCeL on July 29, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Olympics Day 2 - Swimming

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 29: Dana Vollmer of the United States celebrates after winning the gold medal and setting a new world record in the Womans 100m Butterfly during the 2012 London Olympics at the Aquatics Centre on July 29, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Olympics Day 2 - Swimming

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 29: Cameron van der Burgh of South Africa celebrates after winning the gold in the Men's 100m Breaststroke final on Day 2 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre on July 29, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Olympics Day 4 - Swimming

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 31: Shiwen Ye of China competes in the Women's 200m Individual Medley final on Day 4 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre on July 31, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

Olympics Opening Day - Archery

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 27: Im Dong Hyun of Korea celebrates breaking the World Record during the Men's Individual Archery Ranking Round on Olympics Opening Day as part of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Lord's Cricket Ground on July 27, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images)